Khalil Rountree Jr. reveals how the UFC once almost forced him to retire from MMA… 'I had made my decision'

Khalil Rountree reveals how he was almost forced into retirement by the UFC

In 2018, Khalil Rountree Jr. found success after brutally defeating both Paul Craig and Gokhan Saki in the first round.

He then faced Johnny Walker, and the flashy Brazilian halted Rountree's advance in less than two minutes, landing a vicious elbow that catapulted “The War Horse” to the ground.

It was a particularly brutal knockout defeat that prompted Rountree to travel to Thailand in hopes of learning the basics of Muay Thai. A sport in which blocking elbow strikes is just as important as throwing them.

“I made the decision to go to Thailand as if I had nothing else to do. I will learn from this and go to Thailand to learn Muay Thai the right way,” explained Rountree in a fascinating interview with Demetrious Johnson on the Mighty YouTube channel.

“When I arrived in Thailand it was like nothing I had ever experienced. I went to a gym in Bangkok, away from all the tourists, and there was a guy who spoke English… He told me, “If you want to survive here, you have to learn the language, learn where to eat and how to get there.” um '.

“I loved it, it was a new experience for me and I have never felt so welcome in a country… I decided to stay longer than a month, I will stay as long as I can… Almost three years , so I managed to be there at the end of 2018, and then I was there all of 2019 and 2020 during Covid.”

As the world began to open up after the Covid lockdown, Rountree had fallen in love with the sport; To the point where he even asked the UFC if he could accept a few Muay Thai fights – unfortunately that conversation quickly took a frustrating turn.

“I just wanted to do Muay Thai and I remember asking the UFC, 'Can I please fight Muay Thai?' They say no, just contractually no and I was like, 'I won't even use my name,' my Thai trainer has a name for me – like my trainer already calls me something else [so] Nobody will know about it.”

Although the UFC had offered to return to the promotion to fight the remaining fights on his contract and promised to use a pseudonym in Thailand, it reportedly refused to budge – leaving Rountree with a difficult decision.

“They said 'no' and there was a moment in my career where I announced, 'Hey guys, after my next fight I'm done, I'm retiring.'

“I had decided to spend the rest of my life in Thailand, training Muay Thai, competing in Muay Thai fights and just living my life happily because when I got there that's all I had in my life want.”

While it's a shame Rountree didn't have the opportunity to try out a career in professional Muay Thai, the UFC's decision for “The War Horse” certainly worked out well as he prepares for a history-making clash with Alex Pereira.

Interestingly, the fan-favorite veteran recently teased that he has a “secret weapon” up his sleeve for the title fight in Utah; a new technique that has reportedly never been seen before in MMA.

“I definitely have something that’s never been seen before,” he told Megan Olivi on ESPN MMA, explaining how the new move could find a home in Salt Lake City this weekend.

“There are people in the department for whom I can 100% imagine it working. There is a possibility of this happening, this step, this technique – it is possible… Am I looking for it?” NO, [but] When it comes up, everyone will know, 'Oh shit, that's it, that's what he was talking about'.”

Khalil Rountree Jr vs. Alex Pereira will be the main event of UFC 307 this weekend. Could this secret technique be something he picked up in Thailand while focusing on Muay Thai rather than MMA?

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